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Liopleurodon
Liopleurodon was a pliosaur and perhaps the one of the mightiest aquatic animals of all time, behind the modern blue whale. Its long body would have cruised silently through the shallow seas of the late Jurassic, propelled by its flapping flippers. Its size is a topic of considerable debate; the largest pliosaur specimens are not attributed to the Liopleurodon genus and are 18 m long. The longest confirmed Liopleurodon fossils are estimated to have grown up to 25 meters (though The Complete Guide To Prehistoric Life says 18). Facts A massive sea predator with four flippers, they are the biggest, carnivorous reptiles ever. They are awe-inspiring sea monsters. Liopleurodon was a hunter. Its long jaws and rows of needle-sharp teeth would have made marine crocodiles, the giant fish Leedsichthys, ichthyosaurs and even other pliosaurs vulnerable to attack. )]] ''Liopleurodon's nose allowed it to smell underwater. This allowed Liopleurodon to smell its prey from some distance away. Despite needing to breath air, Liopleurodon spent its entire life at sea and was unable to leave the water. Consequently, it would have given birth to its young alive and may have visited shallower water to breed. They also have a really acute sense of smell. Young Liopleurodon live in shallow water. Their short neck helps them be more powerful and that’s when they can tear off chunks of flesh. They too can detect their prey’s distress from a distance. Liopleurodon ''have a directional sense of smell. Two separate chambers in their nose work in the same way as a pair of ears, pinpointing exactly where a smell is coming from. A sophisticated tracking device stirring the largest carnivorous jaws ever known. Each one of ''Liopleurodons four flippers is over three meters long, giving them enough power to guide their huge bulk effortlessly through the water. They can take one giant gulp of air then descend to the depths. There, they can hold their breath for over an hour. Liopleurodon are fiercely territorial about their hunting areas, and confrontations almost always end in violence. Size )]]The largest fossil specimens attributed to the ''Liopleurodon genus is of the order of 7 m (although some fossils show Liopleurodon could have reached larger sizes and maybe over 25 m and weighed 150 tonnes, given in the Walking with Dinosaurs series). Larger pliosaur fossil specimens have been discovered, but these have either been attributed to other species or are poorly preserved and difficult to interpret (though lately they are attritubed to Pliosaurus species). Appearances in the programmes ''Walking With Dinosaurs ''Pilot Liopleurodon ''appeared in the pilot stranded on a beach like at the end of ''Cruel Sea. ''Cruel Sea '')]]An old bull ''Liopleurodon was first seen snatching a fishing Eusteptospondylus off of dry land and performing a death roll on it in order to kill it. The Liopleurodon returned underwater and ate the Eustreptospondylus. The bull was later seen lurking in the depths when several female Ophthalmosaurus were giving birth to their pups. As one mother struggled to push out her pup, the Liopleurodon attacked and killed the mother and her pup. Afterwards, he swam off. One month later, the bull Liopleurodon was seen taking in air and then returned to the depths. Then, a female Liopleurodon invaded his territory. The bull aggressively confronted the female and ripped one of her flippers. The female then swam off, leaving a trail of blood that several Hybodus sharks followed. Months later, after a severe storm, the bull Liopleurodon was left beached on the sea shore. As his weight suffocated him, he slowly died. His corpse was feasted on by several Eustreptospondylus. ''Sea Monsters ''Sea Monsters, Episode 3 An adult Liopleurodon was seen feeding off of a dead Leedsichthys before swimming off. Later, Nigel Marven later tested two different chemicals to see which was better at repelling attacking Liopleurodon. During the tests, two juvenile Liopleurodon attacked a dummy filled with squid. The first chemical did nothing whilst the second (putrizene) repelled the Liopleurodon. )]]During the night, Nigel found a pod of ''Liopleurodon feeding on the Leedsichthys carcass. One came too close and Nigel ejected putrizene from his diving suit and repelled it. The pod then swam off full. ''Walking With Dinosaurs: Inside Their World ''Liopleurodon is one of the viewable Plesiosaurs in the app. Appearances In Other Media Toys Many toys of Liopleurodon share almost the same or similar design as its depiction in the Walking with... series. ''Primeval'' Read more at the Primeval Wiki Liopleurodon first appeared in the novel The Lost Island where one came through an anomaly in Guns Island. It made a physical appearance in 5X02, where it traveled in pods. Its appearance in TV series was never said on screen and was only confirmed by the producers. Merchandise A toy of Liopleurodon was made by Toyway for their Walking with Dinosaurs line. Trivia *''Liopleurodon'' is clearly shown to be the largest carnivore ever due to the fact that the 10-meter Eustreptospondylus was the same length as the Liopleurodon's head and a pliosaur's head is usually a fifth of it's body length. Gallery WWD1x3 Liopleurodon 2.jpg WWD1x3 Liopleurodon 56.jpg WWD1x3 Liopleurodon 68.jpg SM1x3 Liopleurodon 28.jpg SM1x3 Liopleurodon 55.jpg Category:Carnivores Category:Walking with Wikia Category:Walking with Dinosaurs Animals Category:Cruel Sea animals Category:Sea Monsters Animals Category:Sea Monsters Episode 1 animals Category:Sea Monsters Episode 2 animals Category:Sea Monsters Episode 3 animals Category:Mesozoic animals Category:Jurassic animals Category:Animals from Europe Category:Animals from Oxfordshire Category:Animals from the United Kingdom Category:Animals from France Category:Animals from Germany Category:Animals from Russia Category:Animals Category:Chordates Category:Vertebrates Category:Reptiles Category:Sauropsids Category:Plesiosauroids Category:Pliosaurs Category:Marine animals Category:Marine reptiles Category:Apex predators Category:Solitary animals Category:Solitary hunters Category:Time map animals Category:Jurassic megafuna Category:Viviparous animals Category:Quadrupedal animals Category:Walking with dinosaurs: inside their world